Wow! Another month ... and decade.

Lots has happened since last we blogged!

First, we've moved to Silver City, NM. We convoyed out of Mancos on Nov. 23, a day of sunlight 'midst days of cold and snow. 'Twas a long day, but we made it, pulling into our new driveway butt-sore and tired after dark. We found our "stuff" exceeded our vision, so had to delay a day and add another trailer to the convoy, still leaving a few items behind to pick up later.

We do have a resident herd of grounds-keepers that are usually through the yard twice a day. There's also quite a few birds and I've seen a black-tailed jackrabbit on the premises. There's still what seems like 350 boxes in the garage, but we're getting on top of it. We've got enough unpacked to be able to live reasonably comfortably. Sandy's done a great job of getting some of the flat art up around the house, so we're not just looking at bare walls. And, we've got all the utility systems more or less in order.

Silver City is full of activities as the holiday season begins. They have a horse-drawn trolley that was giving free rides up and down the main drag, Bullard Street. We were fortunate to be invited to Lorna and George's for Thanksgiving dinner with some mutual friends, and they also invited us to join them for dinner in the corner window at Isaac's on the evening of the Parade of Lights, which passed by right outside.

We've toured the galleries again and started getting a sense of how our photography might fit in. Pictured are two of Sandy's prints (second and third from left) as they are displayed in the Mimbres Region Arts Council's juried show in their gallery at the Wells Fargo Bank downtown.

There's lots of musical events during the Christmas season. Friday night we went to see and hear "Joy! 2010" at the university theater. This afternoon we're going to a chamber music concert at the Methodist Church. Last night we enjoyed a guitar-playing singer at the Buckhorn Saloon in Pinos Altos. Still to come is the concert by the Hi Lo Silvers, a group our realtor sings with.

Yesterday we went about 30 miles east of Silver City into the Mimbres Valley, on dirt roads and across the one-lane bridge in the foreground, to the Mimbres Hot Springs Ranch studio sale. Way at the end of a dusty trail in the middle of nowhere ... and the place was packed! There were about 30 artists with displays, plus music and food and drink, all on a beautiful December afternoon with temperatures in the low 60s.

Oh, about the decade thing ... yesterday I turned 70.

Drayton came down from Colorado Springs Friday, returning today. So, we got to go to Joy! with him, brunched at Isaac's, did the studio show (where Sandy snapped us standing in the entrance archway) and Sandy treated us to dinner at the Buckhorn, where a nice lady at the next table offered to immortalize the three of us!

In a way, this has been a momentous birthday for me, what with the move, the end of being a tour guide at Mesa Verde after more than 40 years, etc. And it's been a very good one. It's a joy to be here with Sandy, and we're both finding the community very friendly, very welcoming. I don't expect to be shoveling snow very much here and the sunny afternoons are warming. There's lots of cultural activities for us to share, and our photo bug juices really got flowing on the trip out to the art show yesterday ... so many places to explore and photograph at different times of the day, different seasons, etc. Life is SO good! tv